Meet the Woodsman
by redmekanik
Summary: The titans go on a mission to the Idaho Rockies. Raven gets separated from the group, and ends up meeting an unusual teen, a titan in his own domain. Adventure ensues! Focus on Raven, and introduces my OC. First attempt at writing, so playing it safe with the ratings. Read and Review, please. Let me know if you think it has potential.
1. Chapter 1: The Call

**Disclaimer: I do not claim nor imply ownership over any part of the Teen Titans franchise.**

**Story follows the Titans on an adventure in the wilderness of the Northern Rockies. Raven ends up meeting a new ally, an unconventional titan in his own realm. Introduces my original character, who I hope to take on a couple more adventures.**

**Story is set after the defeat of Trigon.**

**Please read. Reviews are appreciated.**

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Meet the Woodsman

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Ch. 1: The Call

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_The sun still hung low on the horizon at this early hour in the Rockies. Entire valleys lay within shadow still, the surrounding peaks blocking the coming light._

_The crunch of boots on fresh snow sounded within a small gully as a lone figure made its way down the shadowy slope. The young man moved swiftly despite the large pack on his back. His long coat flapped about his legs as he skillfully maneuvered around bushes and over fallen logs. As he crossed the small stream and began to move up the opposite slope, the sun finally rose high enough to shine through gaps between the peaks, and patches on sunlight began to move down the slope to the man. The snow blazed white as the light touched it._

_Cresting the ridge, the young man turned to look at the world around him, his breath curling about him in the frigid air. Smoke rose from behind the ridge he had just descended, the chimneys of the tiny town he had just left. He turned to look ahead, at the seemingly endless mountains that stretched before him._

_The young man shifted his pack, and began to descend the other side of the ridge._

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"Glorious day, friends!" exclaimed Starfire as she stood in front of the common room window, gazing out on the city. Indeed it was. Spring was in full bloom in Jump City. The sky was blue without a cloud in sight. The parks were covered in green grass, and the sun seemed determined to brighten the mood of everyone. Not that this particular Tamaranian needed any help.

The day had begun at Titans Tower much as it did any day. Cyborg stood in the kitchen making himself a heap of waffles, Robin was just entering the common room following his morning workout, and Beast Boy was still asleep in his room. That left only one Titan.

Raven sat cross-legged in her usual spot atop the tower. Her eyes were closed as she faced the rising sun coming over the mountains to the east. She was perfectly still aside from her lips, which moved repetitively as Raven chanted her mantra. It was an image of serenity, as she floated about a foot off the roof. Raven could admit that she enjoyed few things more than her morning meditation. She had been up since the sun was first peaking over the horizon, and could keep it up for hours.

Within her mind, she could feel the emotional states of her teammates. Robin radiated a content confidence. Raven could tell that he was satisfied by his personal training that morning. Working out almost always put their leader in a good mood. Robin was a person of action that way.

Cyborg was in a similar mood. Food could always cheer up the sizable teen. Even through her meditative state, Raven caught the smell of the waffles emanating from the vent to her right. She would have to go get some soon. Cyborg usually made extras for the rest of the team, which Raven silently appreciated.

Starfire, of course, was a blinding light in Raven's mind, her emotions were so powerful. It had taken Raven time to get used to having such bright feelings in close proximity. Starfire could always be counted on to see the joy in any occasion. It made for an interesting relationship, but Raven could say she called no one a closer friend. Perhaps it was because Raven only had to have Starfire nearby to know that happiness was possible every day.

Finally, there was Beast Boy. Source of endless bad jokes and annoying pranks. Raven struggle to restrain herself at times with the green teen. He seemed determined to get under her skin, which was the last place Raven wanted anybody. He had at times shown the capability for deep though and emotional maturity, but was mostly a source of chaos. Thankful that he was still asleep, Raven let her mind re-engage the world, and opened her eyes. She silently stood, and turned to the roof access. The waffles were ready.

Not long after, the doors of the common room slid apart as Raven silently entered. Robin and Starfire sat chatting on the couch, while Cyborg was building an ever larger stack of food on his plate. Raven glided over to the kitchen area. She had stopped by her room to grab her latest book, which she set on the counter while she went to grab a plate. Cyborg turned upon hearing her open the cupboard.

"Mornin' Raven. Made a couple extra waffles for ya" chimed the robotic teen. He wore a content grin on his face as he dumped syrup over his own plate.

Raven replied with a simple "Thanks." Cyborg knew her well enough to know that was about as good as it got with the empath. He took his plate to the table and began eating entire waffles at a time. Raven grabbed a couple, topped them with a drizzle of syrup, and sat down to begin eating herself.

"Good morning, friend Raven!" called Starfire from the couch. "I did not see you enter. You look well today." Robin turned to look as well.

"Hey Raven, you ready for training today?" asked the team leader. Raven simply nodded as she took another bite. Leave it to Robin to not even let her finish breakfast before bringing up training. She was preparing a response when the doors slid open yet again.

"Good morning dudes and dudettes!" yelled Beast Boy as he walked into the room, hands in the air for emphasis. "Who is ready for some fun in the sun?"

"Glad to see you finally are getting excited for training, Beast Boy." Robin replied.

Beast Boy's facial expression instantly changed, his arms dropping to his sides with disappointment. "Dude, that's not exactly what I had in mind." the green teen whined, "I'm talking a day on the town. Go to the park, enjoy the sun, check out the ladies." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down for the last part. Robin, however, just stood there with his arms crossed, masked face unchanged.

"You had a day off yesterday, Beast Boy," scolded the team leader, "and your effort in training has been a little lax lately. We should be ready to do our job at any time. You never know when an alert could come in."

Right at that moment, the lights began to flash within the room, accompanied by the familiar alarm.

"You just had to say it." deadpanned Raven.

Minutes later, the titans sat around the couch waiting for Robin's briefing. Beast Boy had devoured his own plate of waffles in record time. Finally, Robin turned from the console, hitting a button to display a map on the big-screen TV.

"Well team, we are getting an odd report." he stated, " Apparently, a research lab in a remote area of Idaho haw just assaulted. Its defenses were unable to ward off the attacker, which made off with important research. It then promptly vanished without a trace."

"What sort of defenses did the facility have?" asked Cyborg.

Robin turned to the console and pulled up some other pages. "Proximity and motion detectors, to aid in the targeting of high energy laser cannons." Robin replied, "According to the report, they had little effect on the opposition, even when they managed to hit it. The sensors had difficulty tracking it."

Cyborgs eyes widened as spec sheets scrolled across the screen. "Must have been quite a tough guy" he observed.

Beast Boy chimed in, "Any idea what it is?"

"No, the attack happened at night." Robin answered, "Due to the automated defenses, the security forces had been reduced. The attack happened fast enough that only one man was able to respond. He caught glimpse of it disappearing into the trees." He continued, "We know it's big, but hard to track, and even high energy laser cannons can't stop it."

"So, what are we to do, Robin?" question Starfire.

Robin stood straight, looking at each team member as he spoke, "Our mission is to track down who or what is behind this attack, stop them, and recover the technology." He called out orders to each titan in turn, "Cyborg, prep the T-ship; Beast Boy, grab our winter gear; Raven, lock down the tower; Starfire, grab some rations. I'll draw up a flight plan and contact the lab."

"So much for fun in the sun." Beast Boy whined.

The leader waited a moment before calling out his favorite line.

"TITANS, GO!"

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_Far north, in the mountains, heavy footsteps echoed in the trees. Machine noises, the whirring of motors and hydraulics, accompanied every step. The sounds deadened as the huge figure entered a deteriorated structure in an abandoned mining camp. _

_"Yes!" cried a grating voice from within the structure, "bring it here, my machine. This is the last piece of the puzzle. With this, my device shall be complete!"_

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Hey all. Here's my first shot at writing some proper fiction. Hope you enjoyed the exposition. Should pick up a bit in the second chapter. Thanks for reading, please review. I'm still deciding whether to continue with this, so let me know if you think it has potential. And constructive criticism is always appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2: The Base

**Alright. Here we have the second chapter. Got a little deeper into exposition, think I've got the story set up now.**

**Apologies for the delay. Between a summer internship and car troubles,been kinda busy. And this chapter was much longer. **

**Please review. I know my first chapter wasn't anything special, but I kinda lost motivation when I did't get much of a response. Thanks to the few who did respond though. If you guys hate it, tell me. I'm tough. I can take it.**

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Ch 2: The Base

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_The sun continued to rise over the Rocky Mountains. The young man strode through the deeper snow of a high mountain meadow, tucked between ridgelines. He paused a moment to take a swig from the canteen at his hip. Take in the scenery. _

_ The noise came at him swiftly. A high pitched whine that rose to a roar. His head snapped around, but the hillsides echoed strangely. He caught movement in the sky out of the corner of his eye and looked just quick enough to catch a glimpse of the strange aircraft that passed over his head. _

_ Bright orange, unusual shape. Like a hammerhead shark, or a big letter "T" in the sky. Moving so fast as to be a blur. It was gone in an instant, the echoes of its passing sounding off the mountains. He stood for a moment, half wondering if he had seen a UFO. _

_ The woods grew quiet again. Whatever it had been, he had never seen anything like it. Looking down at his compass, he realized it had flown in roughly the same direction he was heading. He shrugged his shoulders, settling his pack. Maybe he'd get a chance to see it again._

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"How is there still snow in May?" whined Beast Boy, looking out at the landscape below him. Peaks and valleys passed swiftly by as the T-ship screeched through the skies. Occasional towns had streaked past, but the last fifteen minutes had shown nothing but frosty trees and glittering mountains.

"We are far north, Beast Boy, and a storm just passed through this area," answered Robin, "It might as well still be winter up here. Why do you think I had you pack our cold weather gear?"

"Oh, friends, the ground is so pretty," called Starfire. Her mind was filled with wonder and joy. They got hardly any snow in Jump City. "I shall make an angel of snow, and a small house, and even a gertholg to live in it!"

Robin didn't even bother to ask what a gertholg was. He was deep in leader mode. He chided, though not unkindly, "We are here on a mission, Star. Let's finish that first. Cyborg, what's our ETA?"

The metallic teen was busy at the controls, constantly fiddling with the ship, eking out every ounce of efficiency from the systems. Behind his beloved car, the T-ship was possibly Cyborg's proudest creation. It isn't easy to build a submarine/super-sonic jet/spaceship that can seat five. His response was suitably… boastful.

"Exactly three minutes, thirty-six seconds to landing." He said with a slight smile, "Got the nav point dialed in and the landing sequence set. We can hit the ground running, if we need to. This baby will take care of the rest."

"That shouldn't be necessary." Retorted Robin, earning a sour look from the pilot. "From the report, immediate danger is past. We need to figure out what happened here, and make it right."

Cyborg looked up as a light started blinking on the console to his right. "Well," he said, "here's your chance to start looking. The facility should be in sight… now."

The ship crested the last ridge, earning the teens a stunning view of the destruction below. The external facilities were not particularly remarkable, looking for the entire world like any other research lab. What set it apart was the setting. Set into the side of a deep mountain canyon, the base was well-hidden and not easily reached. The visible structures were not substantially large, but a large portion of the labs were built deep into the mountain, in order to isolate experiments from interference. The outbuildings only held supplies, vehicles, and equipment.

A single paved road led to the front gate of the compound, which had been smashed open. The lot within the fence was a mess of snow, broken and charred asphalt, and scattered debris. The trail of destruction led from there, through one of the outbuildings, and into the massive doors that led within the underground labs. These too had been forced open. A second trail of destruction led out, across the grounds, and through the concrete wall of the compound, continuing into the woods down the valley.

The ship came in smoothly to the landing pad atop the (mostly) intact garage structure. Robin was immediately on the ground, being greeted by a young officer who appeared to be the head of the security detail. He was listening intently, taking stock of the entire situation, re-creating the attack in his mind. This was the young detective's forte, and he worked quickly and efficiently. After taking a quick statement from the lieutenant, Robin turned to address his team in turn.

"Titans, spread out. Cyborg, take a look at the security system. See what you can figure out from the records." Cyborg nodded, already thinking on how best to patch together the situation from footage and recordings.

"Star, take a quick sweep down the valley. Try to figure out where it was headed. Fall back if you encounter anything." Starfire took flight immediately, circling around to the east to follow the trail into the woods.

"Beast Boy, try to get a scent. We may need to track this thing a ways. I want you to be ready." Beast Boy gave a sharp salute, then morphed into a hawk to fly down to the tracks on the ground.

Finally, he spoke in a lower voice to the final team member.

"Raven, you're with me. I need you to help me figure out what exactly was taken. They aren't being fully cooperative."

Raven simply nodded. She had already been extending her senses to the many people within the compound. The security men were shook up, their spirits broken by defeat. Technicians within the command center to her right were focused, working quickly to give Cyborg the information he needed. Within the rock ahead of them, Raven knew there were others, the scientists and assistants, but their auras were muted by the rock. She followed Robin as he headed for the massive steel doors that led into the mountain.

The pair of titans made their way down the steel steps of the landing pad, across the fractured courtyard of the compound. Raven couldn't but stare at the ground. She had seen destroyed pavement (even destroyed some herself) but none in this manner. Large impressions had broken the asphalt, while even larger sections appeared melted, even burned.

Robin noticed her gaze. "Those are from the lasers." he explained, pointing to the rock wall ahead of them. Raven looked, noticing again the large emitters that protruded from the rock face. They were surprisingly unobtrusive. Cyborg had already explained to her that what she saw was only the final stage in a series of lenses that focused the beams. The actual laser generators were built deeper into the mountain. The system was mind boggling in power. Yet it had proven useless.

Raven glanced at her team's leader. She knew the look on his face well. Robin had been given a mystery, and would not stop until it was solved. She sensed his concern as well. She felt it too. This attacker, whatever it was, was sure to prove challenging. They continued walking across the broken ground in silence, before finally reaching the opening into the mountain. The doors had been torn open, and the massive size of the hole gave another clue on the scale of their quarry.

Just within, they found more guards, who stopped them briefly, waiting for authorization before allowing passage. Raven looked ahead. The tunnel seemed to extend indefinitely, with only the regularly placed lights offering any sense of distance down the shear concrete walls. A guard offered a ride in a golf-cart, which the teens accepted. They sped deeper into the tunnel.

It was a surprisingly short time to reach the main lab area. The tunnel terminated at a sort of hub, with further corridors leading off in several directions. A scientist, dressed stereotypically in a white lab coat, waited to greet them. Raven let her powers spread, expanding her consciousness to those around her. She sensed Robin's familiar presence. The guard, still uneasy from the events of the previous night, was doing his best to remain stoic and professional. The scientist, however… he was hesitant.

She would be too, with what was happening.

Their driver stopped the cart, and Robin leapt off immediately, turning to shake the scientist's hand. The man introduced himself, "Hello, so glad you made good time. I am Dr. Emmett Loring, head of the project you will be interested in."

The titan replied politely. "I'm Robin, leader of the Teen Titans. This is Raven," gesturing at the girl as he spoke.

"How do you do?" greeted the doctor, but Raven simply nodded.

"Dr. Loring," continued Robin, "You reported experimental equipment was taken during the attack. What was taken? I want to know what the motivated of the attacker, and how to best stop them."

The scientist shifted his stance uncomfortably. "As you may know," He began, "we are a top secret research base. Much of what we work on here is highly classified…" The teenage detective simply intensified his gaze. The researcher continued, "I am aware, though, that you have been given certain clearances, so I can give you an overview. Nothing too technical, you understand."

Raven could feel her teammate's growing frustration, but he maintained his composure as always. "I don't need technical details." Robin stated, "But the more you tell us about the project, the better we can help."

"Of course," Dr. Loring replied. He sighed, "As you know, we do research for the military through DARPA. Our focus has been on matter transference. Teleportation, you know."

Robin nodded. Raven stared.

The researcher elaborated, "Teleportation would have huge applications, both military and peaceful. People have been dreaming about it for centuries. But we think we may have made the first true progress in the subject."

The trio began to walk down one of the hallways, the one with the most obvious damage. Apparently, this had been the path of their mystery attacker. Their host kept talking, "We realized that all cultures featured instantaneous transportation within myths, usually a power of magicians, sorcerers, or spiritual persons. We examined ancient texts, some surprisingly hard to find, for clues: works of Ptolemy, transcripts of African spoken folklore, Mayan tablets. We even managed to obtain a rare copy of the Book of Azar, which proved very helpful. Gave us insight into the possibilities of using other planes of existence for travel."

Raven couldn't suppress a slight gasp. She was always surprised at the mention of her home. That they had somehow found a copy of that book was astounding. But also worrisome. If they were studying Azarathean tomes to further research in teleportation, who knew what might be the result. She listened more intensely.

"We eventually were able to move small objects in a laboratory setting. We were so thrilled. The combination of modern technology with ancient mystical knowledge has produced fantastic results. We view the possible applications of ethereal science as endless. But we recently began to have doubts. The risks involved with this technology are unknown. We aren't sure the world is ready" Dr. Loring paused, standing in front of what appeared to be the last set of doors. These too had been forced open, torn completely from their hinges. Inside the room, lights flickered, wires were strewn about, and the text fixture in the center of the room stood empty.

"Our prototype Ethereal Transport Device was stolen from here. It's all they took…"

* * *

Not long after, the two titans found themselves again in sunlight. Robin was more determined than ever to find the attacker, but Raven felt a strange unease.

"Don't you own a copy of the Book of Azar?" Robin suddenly asked.

"Yeah," replied the sorceress, "An original, actually. Not surprising when you consider I knew the author."

The Boy Wonder chuckled. "Guess so."

Raven had only months before revealed her past to her team, in the lead up to her sixteenth birthday. Now, with the end of the world come and gone, it was beginning to be something they could discuss. They all knew that Raven would need time to recover from a lifetime of dread and preemptive remorse. But there had been small signs that the dark titan was slowly moving forward.

The pair of heroes had followed the trail to the hole in wall, where the attacker had left the compound. Beast Boy was kneeling in the woods just outside the compound, scratching his chin. His ears twitched at their feet on the rubble, and he turned. "Hey guys." He called.

"Got anything?" asked the leader.

"Not much," the green teen reported, "Mostly just smells like the forest, or the lab, or burning from the lasers. Whatever came through musta gotten burned a bit, right? Anyhow, I got a hint of metal kinda smell out there in the foot prints. Kinda oily." He crinkled his nose. "Like a machine…"

"That's 'cause it was a machine, grass stain," Cyborg called as he stepped over a large piece of wall. "Some sort of big robot."

Robin perked up, "Did you get a good image from the tapes?"

"Not really," sighed Cyborg, "Between the smoke, and the laser-light-show throwing off the focus, the video was in bad shape. I filtered it as best I could, but this is the best I got." He handed the leader a picture.

The other titans looked over Robin's shoulder to look. It really wasn't a great shot. The image was very dark, with most of the light coming from the nearly white line of a laser beam, which bent oddly at a certain point in the picture, before burning into the ground. But in between the dark and light, there was just enough definition to get an idea what was going on. There was a glint of metal here and there. The more Raven looked, the more the she saw. It was indeed a large machine. It towered over the car that could barely be seen in the background. And based on everything else they had seen, it was as big as it looked in the picture.

Robin stared at the picture for a few moments before speaking. "Well, at least we know what we might be up against." He said. "What is causing the laser to deflect like that?"

"Don't know." Cyborg replied, "By all means, those cannons are serious business. They could probably cut through these mountains in only a few minutes. I mean, you see what they did to the parking lot. But the just bounced off this guy."

"We will have to be careful," Robin mused, "No telling what this thing may be capable of." The Boy Wonder looked up. "Anyone seen Star?"

"I am here, Robin," came the answer from above them. The alien landed between Beast Boy and Raven, and gave a report on what she had found. "This trail of destruction continues for some ways down the valley, before meeting a large stream. It appears our quarry then traveled along the stream, in order to obscure its path."

"Smart robot" quipped Raven.

Robin straightened, folding the picture and tucking it in a pouch in his belt. "The stream is where the guards lost the trail. I have every confidence we can pick it up from there. Beast Boy, think you can follow the scents you picked up?"

The shape shifter thought a moment, before replying with a shrug, "I'll try my best. Water messes with trails. But, yeah."

Robin nodded, and addressed them all.

"Okay, we think we know what we are facing. It has a good lead on us, but I have every confidence that we can catch up. Beast Boy, you're our lead. Let's go, Titans!"

And with that, they took off into the woods.

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**Alright. Hope this is building good tension. For those excited to see the OC, know that he should finally get involved at the end of the next chapter.**


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